By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
DUKE CENTER, PA – In a night that honored their soon-to-be-graduates, the seniors on the Otto-Eldred boys’ basketball team carried the team to a 81-26 win over Galeton on Senior Night.
Ahead of the game, the Terrors’ PA announcer hit the nail on the head, “Ladies and gentleman, please give one more round of applause to the most successful class in Otto-Eldred history.” That notion is undeniable. Between the dominant regular seasons, yearly deep drives into the postseason, numerous individual awards, as well as being the first team in District 9 history to boast three 1,000-point scorers on the same roster, the Terrors are a pillar in the local community.
Honoring the men of the hour, the fans in the Terror Dome celebrated the seven seniors: Landon Francis, Manning Splain, Shene Thomas, Davey Schenfield, Hunter App, Jared Obenrader and Charlie Minard. Together, they shared a total of 25 combined years on the hardwood.
“They’re good kids and a lot of the younger guys look up to them. There’s a lot of people here that brought their fifth or sixth graders to see this,” said Derrick Francis. “It’s a special group obviously.”
The seniors would get to work immediately, with Splain getting the ball off the tip and scoring within the first three seconds of play. However, on the ensuing Galeton possession, Splain came away with a steal before sprinting down the court for a layup. After putting up a shot, he came back down to Earth on top of a defenders’ foot, suffering an ankle injury that would leave him on the sidelines for the remainder of the game.
In the lull that followed, the Tigers found their window to score four consecutive points, taking what would be their only lead of the game. Being down on the scoreboard snapped O-E back into focus. From there on, the Terrors would launch an all-out attack that buried Galeton within minutes.
Led by their forwards, Thomas and Schenfield who crashed the glass for numerous offensive rebounds, O-E scored 14 unanswered points. Asserting himself on both sides of the ball, Thomas disregarded his body in an effort to get to the rim. Through the Terrors’ initial scoring blitz, the senior came away with three and-one opportunities as he challenged defenders in the air.
“It’s all been happening over the years. He’s seeing the court better and he’s attacking gaps and not settling for 3’s,” said Derrick Francis. “It’s not that he can’t shoot 3’s but when he gets to the basket, there’s nobody who can guard him. He’s probably been our most efficient player this whole year.”
O-E’s Shene Thomas asserted himself in the paint against the Tigers, scoring 26 points in the Terrors’ Senior Night win over Galeton. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
After holding a 21-6 lead after the first quarter, the Terrors would only continue to heat up in the second. Speeding up the game with long outlet passes or break-neck sprints down the court, the Terrors ran the Tigers into the ground as they simultaneously ran up the score. Although Galeton would find an improved offense compared to their first quarter, O-E was always there to retaliate. Heading into the halftime break, the Terrors had outscored Galeton 25-9 for a 31-point advantage on the scoreboard.
With the game already decided, O-E needed one last barrage to finish off Galeton. The Tigers would find scattered scores throughout the Terrors’ scoring runs, but seemed unable to effectively even slow down their opponents on defense. Finishing out the quarter, O-E scored 18 unanswered points, including eight consecutive from Landon Francis.
In the final eight minutes, the Terrors shied away from their seniors. Instead, they gave a nod to the future, swapping in their budding underclassmen to carry the torch across the finish line.
“A lot of programs are talking about how this group of seniors will be gone soon and yeah, they’re right but they don’t understand that we have seven seniors but there’s 30 kids in the gym every day in the summer,” said Derrick Francis. “There’s 23 kids that aren’t seniors that want to play and, fortunately for them, they’re going against some of the best kids in the district.”
All seven seniors made their way into the scoring column. Landon Francis once again led the way in scoring with 28 while Thomas ended with 26. Knocking down three 3-pointers, Obenrader ended with nine points, followed by Schenfield with three, Splain with two and Minard and App with one point each, respectively.
AT DUKE CENTER
Galeton (26)
Malaczewski 4 1-2 9, Shutt 2 2-6 6, Ward 2 0-0 5, Holcomb 2 0-0 4, Shaffer 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 3-8 26
Otto-Eldred (81)
Francis 10 2-3 28, Thomas 9 7-7 26, Sheeler 4 0-0 10, Obenrader 3 0-0 9, D. Schenfield 1 1-2 3, Splain 1 0-0 2, Blendinger 1 0-0 2, App 0 1-2 1, Minard 0 1-2 1. Totals: 29 12-16 81
Galeton 6 15 21 26
Otto-Eldred 21 46 70 81
Three-point goals: GT (1) Ward, O-E (12) Francis 6, Obenrader 3, Sheeler 2, Thoams Total fouls: GT 12 , O-E 7; fouled out: None.
JV: Otto-Eldred 49, Galeton 22
